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Joe Perry hit two centuries on the way to thrashing Stuart Bingham at the Alexandra Palace (credit:BBC Sport)

Joe Perry claimed only his second ever victory at the Masters in emphatic fashion as he surged to a 6-1 rout Stuart Bingham in the First Round at the Alexandra Palace on Monday night.

The Gentleman had been victorious in just one of his eight previous matches at snooker’s most prestigious invitational event, but put an end to his barren run with top breaks of 116 and 107 along the way.

"It was very much out of the blue that one," admitted a puzzled Perry. "I don't think I've played that well since I got to the final out in Yushan. I might have put the odd performance in but nothing as solid as that.

"I came here with zero expectation on myself this year, I just wanted to enjoy it because I haven't enjoyed snooker at all in the last two or three months.

"It's a massive, prestigious event with big money, so to me, it's a bonus and I have to treat it like that," he added.

Perry had won eight of his 11 showdowns with Bingham prior to this encounter and came flying out of the blocks, as he pounced on a loose safety from his opponent by crashing in a wonderful 116 clearance to draw first blood.

It looked like Ballrun would level things up in the second frame, but missed the blue and left it for the Gentleman to clear and force a re-spotted black, which he potted brilliantly from distance to double his lead.

Bingham, who became a father for the second time following the birth of daughter Marnie Rose on Saturday, hit back with a bang as a clearance of 132 narrowed the deficit but broke down on 32 in the next, allowing world number nine Perry to produce a neat run of 77 to restore the two-frame buffer.

The Chatteris cueist, who had won just one of his eight previous matches at the Masters, went into overdrive after the break, as runs of 76 and 107 – his second century – moved him to the brink of victory.

World number two Bingham needed no second invitation, as he took a closely fought seventh frame on the black to set up a clash with Ding Junhui in the Last Eight.